Chess Championship in Honor of Detainee Rania Abbasi

On March 11, 2013, the Syrian Military Intelligence arrested Dr. Rania Abbasi, her husband and six children at their home in Damascus. A dentist, social activists and national chess champion of Syria, Abbasi disappeared along with her entire family, their fate and whereabouts remain unknown. Today, activists highlight the struggle of Rania Abbasi through a chess championship that bears her name.

Launched by the the Public Authority for Youth and Sports and the Basma (Fingerprint) Foundation, the championship took place in Aleppo, on December 25, 2014.

The tournament, which lasted three days, was organized for young children, adopting sports as therapy for the psychological trauma that violence has had on Syrian children.

The event also aimed to draw attention to the issue of the disappeared champion and her family, and to stress their immediate release.

The Public Authority for Youth and Sports had previously launched a campaign to demand freedom for Adnan Qassar, captain of the Syrian Equestrian team, who spent more than 20 years in prison.

Despite being military par excellence, Turkish presence has been widely welcomed by different segments of Syrian society in Idlib countryside and the Euphrates Shield areas, north of Aleppo. The reason for that being its contribution to improving the living condition of these areas, for the first time since the outbreak of the uprising in 2011.

Changing the ways we communicate with each other is of utmost importance if we consider the weak and fragmented character of Syrian secular opposition circles nowadays. Such a reflection inevitably involves the leading voices articulating these important issues (gender, class, among others) to take their responsibility in elaborating their positions and points of difference and to seek viable alliances and wider solidarity networks

In recent days in Syria, civil society organizations and activists have carried out a number of activities drawing attention to events in Aleppo and as-Suwayda’ as well, including protests in front of a government building in response to the killing of a civilian by the National Defense Forces (NDF) and a rebellion in the city’s central prison.